


Sweven

by StrawhatsAndDelibirds



Category: One Piece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21858337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawhatsAndDelibirds/pseuds/StrawhatsAndDelibirds
Summary: Sometimes the dead choose not to be dead.
Relationships: Going Merry & Usopp
Kudos: 15





	Sweven

Something felt off. Usopp was on the ship, and the sun was shining. No one else was around him, because they were on the island exploring. But still something wasn’t quite right about all this.

Maybe the air was too still, or Luffy and Brook both went into town. That was its own problem, but they had other people on their crew so they weren’t his responsibility. He was still going to worry about it, but he also had to figure out what was off about the ship. 

A pit grew in his stomach when he realized he couldn’t hear the waves or the bustle of town. The silence on the ship was almost deafening once he noticed that. What if someone with a devil fruit was attacking them, and making it so nothing made a sound so they could sneak around and off them one by one. 

What if he was the only one left?

Usopp knew that was a stupid worry to have. His crew were far more capable than he was. And even if he did spend most of his time sleeping, there was no way Zoro would let someone just waltz onto the ship. Robin would probably know the moment someone thought of messing with them. There’s no way a thing like that could happen.

Yet the fear continued to tightened in his chest as he wondered if he could even make a sound. Was he even brave enough to know the answer? He didn’t have a plan for once he knew he couldn’t make a sound. 

“Wow!!!! A meat carrying swordswoman with lots of money has come to give us sweets and information!!! And I can see her panties!!! And!!! She’s a robot!!!” He yelled out once the fear of not knowing outweighed the fear of knowing. He panted and waited for anyone of his crew to show up on deck. There was some comfort in hearing his voice break the stillness. 

But the deck remained in defiant silence. They had to have heard him. He yelled it pretty loud, and at the very least he would’ve drawn out five of his crewmates. But none of them came out to see what was happening.

Now he was starting to get worried. Something was wrong and it now fell on his shoulders. Even after all this time, he was still the least well equipped to deal with this kind of thing. He would’ve liked to have one partner in all this. 

“Wow! You guys have really gotten better at patching up the ship after serious fights.” A voice chimed from behind him. “I can barely see the damages now!”

He couldn’t put his finger on where he had heard that voice before, but it felt familiar. It was safe, almost like if home had a voice. Which was weird, because the voice sounded young. Like a small child. 

Part of him was almost afraid to turn around. He had no idea who or what it was he’d see once he turned around. He wasn’t sure why he was afraid, but still the fear lingered. 

“Even the spots from difficult fights, there might be some burned spots on the grass, but the rest of the ship is still in tiptop shape. You’ve gotten so much better at this!” The voice continued to compliment. 

Usopp had nothing to fear, what he was feeling was irrational. This voice was small, and what were the odds of this being like that Pika guy? And it’d be impossible for that Pika guy to be here and want revenge for his captain. Right? 

But when he turned around, he was looking down on what looked like a little kid in a raincoat and little boots, their face hidden by their hood, and their all of them glowing a ghostly blue. 

Oh good, a ghost. These ones were different than Perona’s, so this was definitely the real deal. A real live actual ghost on his ship, here where he lives. Part of him wants to be scared, but the larger part of his brain that has become so desensitized to the nonsense that he deals with on a daily basis, that something that should be weird like this is completely normal to him. Like seeing a bird or a spider. He’s never seen an actual ghost, but he bunks with a skeleton, so this might as well happen. 

But as he stares at the spector, a memory he hadn’t thought of in a long time resurfaces. Back on Skypeia, he vaguely remembered seeing someone like this. Not like a human that was wandering around with them as a citizen, but late one night. Just the once, but they were odd enough that he remembered them hammering away to repair the Merry. 

“Oh, can you see me right now?” The spector asked. They had no eyes, but he could feel them looking at him curiously. “I guess that makes sense, given where we are.” 

“Where… Are we?” Usopp asked, now a little concerned. He had been starting to trust the ghost, but it gets hard to do when cryptic things are being said. 

“We’re in your dream. I didn’t even know this was a thing that could happen.” The spirit mused. 

“Ghosts can get you in your dreams?” Did that mean last time he was really asleep too? 

“I’m not a ghost. I’m a klabautermann.” Usopp had heard of those before. Franky mentioned it a long time ago, back before he joined the crew. It wasn’t really a time Usopp liked to look back to.

“A spirit of the ship?” A moment as it clicked. “Sunny?!?”

The shock of it made Usopp stumble backwards and fall flat on his ass. Seeing as it was a dream, it didn’t really hurt. At least now he was face to “face” with Sunny. 

The Klabautermann tilted his head as he mused this over. “I do live here, but I wouldn’t say I’m quite the Sunny.”

If they weren’t Sunny then… 

A sob tighted Usopp’s throat. “Merry?” It couldn’t be. There was no way. They were all there. They all saw her burn. How could she be here.

“Yep, I’m her spirit. You’ve grown a lot, Usopp.” Her words were warm like a hug. She hadn’t touched him, but they were still so warm. 

“Not to be rude, but why are you still here? We failed you. We didn’t treat you with the care you deserved and pushed you past the point of no return. Did we send you off wrong? Is that why you’re still here?” The tears were pouring down his face at this point. He did his best to wipe them away with his arm. This was embarrassing. Merry was here and he was crying like a child. He was supposed to be a brave warrior. Warriors didn’t cry like this.

“Usopp. I was a pirate ship. I lived my life as the rest of you did. If I wasn’t putting my life on the line as much as the rest of you, I couldn’t call myself a pirate ship, could I.” She gently put her tiny hands on his arm. 

“But we put you to rest. We burned you so you could finally rest. Why are you here? Did we miss something? You carried us so deep into the grandline, you took us to the sky! You deserve to rest now.” They had wronged her. He had wronged her. That was why she was still here, wasn’t it? He was keeping her from moving on in some way. 

“Usopp. I already told you. I was a pirate ship. Out of every type of ship out there, I think I’m the one most allowed to be selfish. I want to see my crew fulfill their dreams, even if I’m not your ship anymore. I’m a pirate ship, I don’t have to follow the rules.” She was definitely their ship. Even after everything was said and done, Merry was still definitely one of them. 

If she could touch him, he could hug her. Hold her and try and give back even half the love that she’s given to all of them. Spirit or not, she was warm. Her arms couldn’t reach around him, but it was more than enough.

“Dawn’s coming. Soon you’ll wake up, and you won’t be able to see me. But I promise you I’ll always be with you, and the rest of the Strawhats.” 

“I don’t want to leave yet, Merry.” Even though he knew this couldn’t last forever. He just wanted a little longer.

“Neither of us are going anywhere. I’m always going to be with you. At the docks in Sniper Island.” Her tiny hand placed gently over his heart.

No matter how hard he fought, everything was going black. Before he woke up, he heard her voice, one last time.

“I’m proud of the warrior you’ve become, Usopp.” 


End file.
